


we can't unsee our future (but we can try)

by simplememories



Series: past and future come back to haunt us (hp) [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Battle of Hogwarts, Book 3: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Book 7: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Characters Reading Harry Potter Books, Gen, Hogwarts Third Year, Oneshot, The Golden Trio Era (Harry Potter), Wordcount: 1.000-3.000, ish
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:28:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23957662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/simplememories/pseuds/simplememories
Summary: "They all seemed to be mid-movement, eyes hardened, with concentration and determination. More than a good quarter of the holograms were Hogwarts students, decked out in their uniforms, looking as if they came straight out of class. Some of the adults looked like they were from the Ministry, but some were in the midst of a duel with some students, while others were stunning the black hooded figures.""A sign flashed over the bodies, making the situation even worse. May 2nd, 1998."---In which in the midst of being hunted by the infamous murderer (and Azkaban escapee), Sirius Black, Harry Potter witnesses a part of the Battle of Hogwarts with the rest of the Hogwarts populationORIn which an author struggles to write a good title.
Series: past and future come back to haunt us (hp) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1727185
Comments: 34
Kudos: 177





	we can't unsee our future (but we can try)

_December 18, 1993_

The Great Hall was bustling with life, yet Harry sat quietly, scooping small bits of food into his mouth before he was about to go back to his dormitory. They had just come back from the Hogsmeade trip, where Harry, Ron, and Hermione, discovered the reason why Sirius Black was truly convicted: he sold out his best friends, Harry’s parents.

Nothing cheered him up, not even Ron’s jokes or Hermione’s random fun facts… it was rather dull between the trio.

But suddenly, as Harry got up to leave to his dorm, a small projectile came his way and out of instinct, he ducked. His eyes looking furiously around, he scanned the hall at who could have shot the spell. He frowned, everyone around him seemed to be nervously murmuring. Harry warily sat back down, keeping an eye on the Headmaster, who creased his brow and had clutched his wand.

Ron grabbed his arm, “Dementors?” He quietly questioned Hermione, who shook her head. Nobody of the Ravenclaws or Slytherins saw the quick streak of darkness pass by, but some Hufflepuffs (which was right by the Gryffindor table) were uneasily glancing at Harry. 

Harry watched as Dumbledore silently cast the wards over the Great Hall and locked eyes with Harry who immediately looked away. 

He started, “I think--” 

He was interrupted by several screams and shouts and he quickly turned his gaze to the ceiling and there were millions of jet black projectiles streaming down from the ceiling. They were falling and falling and in the background Harry could hear people racing for the exit (which they soon realized was shut) and teachers furiously casting shields. Harry attempted to duck down, under the table with the rest of his fellow Gryffindors, plates left half-empty, but the hem of the robe caught on the edge of the bench. Harry pulled on it, but it wasn't budging. _Of all the stupid ways to die_ , he thought to himself, as the jets hit the ground next to him. He squeezed his eyes shut, but nothing happened.

He cautiously opened his eyes, but there was pitch black darkness surrounding him on all sides. Low murmurs began to fill the room and Harry was reminded of the time the power shut out in Privet Drive when he was younger, and Dudley had immediately begun to whine for his mother. 

_“Lumos!_ ”

Hundreds of small floating bulbs of light came out of the tips of the wand, and Harry was immensely glad that they were wizards. He almost laughed, imagining what would happen if they had no way of casting light. Setting that thought aside, he gazed around, offering a hand to Ron as they clambered out from underneath the tables.

Hermione shakily clambered off the floor, waving her wand around wildly, casting light on everybody near her. She caught sight of a trembling first year, who she rushed to comfort.

Watching everyone, tense and nervous, made Harry groan. He thought he would have gotten a break, after Quirrell in first year and the Chamber in second, but he guessed, this was just another mystery to be unearthed (and most likely going to attempt to kill him). In the small bulbs of light cast by all the students, he could see the professors trying to bring light back to the room, but as soon as they cast the spell, the tendrils of darkness just creeped back into the room. 

Seamus Finnegan, who had been sitting close to the trio, pointed out to the surrounding Gryffindors that Dumbledore was nowhere to be seen. Indeed the Headmaster had disappeared from sight and the other Houses seemed to realize this, hence the crying from the Ravenclaw table.

Quite suddenly, Harry watched in horror as the darkness began to twist together, to take some sort of shape -- for one frightening second, he was reminded of the huge slime monsters from Muggle horror movies -- and the light slowly started to seep into the room. But despite several first years’s reliefs, the worst was not over. The professors had their wands steadily aimed at the bubbling darkness, now a column of pitch black in the very center of the Great Hall and then it exploded.

***  
  


Now dear reader, you may question the sanity of the author, but let me assure you, she is by no means crazy. There is a logic to this plot, if it exists at all. I shall resume the story.

***

“What in the world?” whispered Harry as he watched frozen figures pop up throughout the Hall. There were several yelps of shock as people recognized the holograms.

“Is that you?”  
  


“Blimey, Dean looks ages older!”  
  


“Why do I look seventeen?!”

“Is that Professor McGonagall?”

In fact, the hologram next to Harry looked like an older version of Colin Creevey. 

Ron stuck his hand through the hologram next to him, a middle-aged wizard darting through frozen beams of light, a snarl on his face, facing off Creevey. “It’s almost as if they were locked in a...” he trailed off, at a loss for words. 

“... duel,” Hermione finished in a hushed voice. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the frozen figures.

_A rather pointless duel if they're not moving_ , a voice within Harry remarked snidely, who another voice began berating immediately. 

“What’s happening?” cried the terrified voice of Dennis Creevey from the end of the Gryffindor table. But nobody had an answer. From across the room, Harry spotted Malfoy squinting at a hooded tall figure, trying to see who was under the hood, but then he paled. The Slytherins on the other side of the Hall were nervously chattering, pointing at several figures. Was this the work of Sirius Black? But Harry silently dismissed the thought, because the holograms seemed harmless… 

They all seemed to be mid-movement, eyes hardened, with concentration and determination. More than a good quarter of the holograms were Hogwarts students, decked out in their uniforms, looking as if they came straight out of class. Strangely enough, some adults were in the midst of a duel with some students, while others were stunning the black hooded figures.

But the Colin-look-alike started moving, along with all the other figures in the room, and Harry stumbled back. To Harry’s amazement the holograms began to shout. “LOOK OUT COLIN!” A blast echoed nearby, and all the students in the Great Hall swiveled towards the sound. Giant spiders were crawling through the wall, but no, wait that wasn’t right… it was a holographic wall with a hole that looked like it was caused by a powerful _Bombarda Maxima_. Spells, beams of green and red, shot from the tips of wands, and the chaos seemed to have confused the watching Hogwarts population.

What were they looking at?

Trying to focus on the scenes around them and ignore Ron’s whimpering from the oncoming spiders, he caught sight of a Parvati-look-alike cast a full Body-Bind on one of the adults and duck into the fray. He even spotted an older version of Malfoy running along the outskirts of the battle. A frazzled Professor Trewlaney-look-alike, was dropping crystal balls onto the menacing figures decked out in black (Harry swore Ron was choking on his laughter, despite how many times the redhead denied it in later years).

The population of Hogwarts stared in horror as they watched students fall to these men in masks, but also in awe as they watched these older looking versions of themselves fire spells artfully, as if they had mastered every spell in the book.

Harry noted how easily the duels were held, even the Neville look-alike managed to hold his own with several of these masked figures, whipping out a wand and casting a powerful _Expelliarmus_.

(That was a good spell, Harry noted. He should start using it in DADA.)

From the corner of his eye, Harry saw Hermione’s eyes widen with realization as her eyes darted from the older versions of each student. She leaned forward, about to share a revelation with him and Ron, but as soon as she began to tell them, Dementors floated into the Hall. 

It was not simply a couple Dementors this time, which would be terrible, but an entire swarm of them. The wraith-like creatures drifted into the Hall, dark hoods swaying in an invisible breeze.

This elicited several cries of fear, this time not only from the younger years, and Harry scrambled for his wand, not knowing what to do, but dreaded the screams for what he was going to hear, and prepared himself for the worst.

“They’re not real Harry, look,” reassured Ron, who was looking at him concerned. Harry squinted and noted that in fact, Ron was right. The dementors were surrounded in the bluish haze that seemed to surround all the other holograms, but Harry could not help but steadily grip his wand in his hand, and steel himself for the worst.

“I can’t help it,” he muttered back, watching as the Dementors seemed to block out all the light in the room and Harry couldn’t help, but wonder how the fake holographic students would get out of the situation.

But as soon as the Dementors came, light silver animals burst out from one of the balconies. A silver hare, boar, and fox raced into the Hall, soon joined by a majestic stag. Everybody looked in wonder as they drove off the Dementors.

A sharp gasp caught Harry’s attention. He saw Professor Lupin gaping at the cantering stag who tossed his antlers defiantly, outshining the darkness of the Dementors. And for once in his lifetime, Harry caught sight of a speechless Snape, who then shot a look of pure loathing at the animal (couldn’t Snape appreciate anything?).

Somewhere in Harry’s mind, the stag seemed familiar and in the depths of his mind he recalled a voice, warm and cheerful, whispering, “Come on Prongs, don’t tease the baby!” Harry squeezed his eyes shut, trying to remember, paying no heed to his surroundings… something… long black hair, a warm grin and --

Nothing. He opened his eyes, disappointed with the little information he remembered. But he silently noted the fact that someone said Prongs. Wasn't that one of the names listed on the Marauder's Map?

Jets of light streamed past him and the holographic figures were still yelling out spells and racing past the shocked Hogwarts students. Everyone watched the figures in fascination as they shot hexes and curses at each other. The Colin-look-alike passed by him, and Harry stared in fascination. This was not the bouncing, eager little boy, that had annoyed Harry for pictures to no end. He was determined and quick to dodge the spells aimed his way. Ron too was staring at the holographic blonde boy, who was yelling jinxes out loud, driving back the men in hoods. A green jet of light headed the boy’s way, Harry observed, and the look alike put a strong shield with a flick of his wand, but the light still headed his way. 

The look-alike’s eyes widened and Harry realized what was going to happen. The boy flew forcefully back, almost in slow-motion, and hit the ground with a thud.  
  


The whole Gryffindor table stopped moving, staring in shock at the still boy lying in front of them. His eyes were too glassy and they were unblinking, staring at the overhead ceiling. And the green jet of light was too similar to the flash of green light Harry heard in his dreams, accompanied with the high-pitched, cruel cackle.

He took no notice as the other holograms, one by one, faded, so that only ones left were the still bodies on the ground. A collective gasp of breath.

_Too young, too young, too young_ , a voice muttered in his head. He looked around and saw death. Too much of it. Heaps of bodies littered the ground like flowers strewn on the floor in a wedding. Too many people… 

And a sign flashed over the bodies, making the situation even worse. May 2nd, 1998. 

***

And that night, instead of thinking of Sirius Black, the screams and cries of the dead followed him into his sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> If you want me to add more this series add a comment or two specifying which scene you want Harry to witness (and yes, they will be in third year). I was thinking of doing the whole scene where Neville kills Nagini, Hermione, Ginny, and Luna duel Bellatrix with Molly killing her later on, or Fred's death. Ooh, also the Marauder's Era, showcasing the Marauders friendship! One more thing... did I write from Harry's POV okay-ish? It feels kinda weird... constructive criticism is welcome!


End file.
